Wellness Center

The heart of the Big Wave Project, the Big Wave Wellness Center, is a privately funded live/work community that will foster independence and sustainable living for adults with developmental disabilities.

The Wellness Center is needed now more than ever.  The Coastside population includes hundreds of people with developmental disabilities.  In contrast, the entire County of San Mateo has only a mere 194 affordable units for this population.  The unemployment rate  for adults with special needs is 87%. 

Housing Units

Housing options will include one-, two-, and four-bedroom affordable units featuring bathrooms, living rooms, and kitchens for approximately 50 residents and 20 staff. 

At Big Wave, affordability is defined by what can be leased on a Social Security disability payment, less than $900 per month.

Communal Areas

The Community Center will include a full commercial kitchen and dining room. It will also feature a recreational room, an indoor basketball court, a movie theater, a library, art studios, classrooms, administrative offices, a swimming pool, and exercise facilities.

The onsite grounds will incorporate basketball courts, walking paths, community gardens, an organic farm, a large wetlands restoration area, laundry facilities, storage areas, and parking.

An onsite commercial building will provide revenue to the Wellness Center by way of market rate rentals and/or space for Big Wave-related businesses.

Vocational Opportunity

With the developmentally disabled in desperate need for job training and career opportunities (Hope Services quotes the unemployment rate at 87%), job creation is a top priority at Big Wave. All aspects of the Big Wave Project (water, power, wetlands, community center, etc.) are structured to include and employ the developmentally disabled. From providing laundry services to caring for the surrounding wetlands, residents will have meaningful employment within walking or wheelchair distance from their homes.

The Wellness Center will generate at least 80 jobs for the developmentally disabled. Jobs in maintenance, delivery, farming, clerical, entertainment, care-giving, recycling, communications, food preparation, laundry, animal husbandry, and administration—as well as job training for these vocations—will be available to the developmentally disabled seeking employment.

Financial Sustainability

The 5.25 acres for the Wellness Center and the necessary funds for the environmental impact reports, project design, project engineering, and project infrastructure have been generously donated to ensure the Wellness Center has an affordable foundation.

Big Wave-owned commercial property located on the Wellness Center site and association fees from the adjacent Office Park will provide recurring, inflation-adjusted revenue in perpetuity. 

Cost of Living

The intention of Big Wave is to construct a project that will provide affordable housing and living to the developmentally disabled, a population that typically earns 15% of the per capita income. Big Wave does not want a lack of funds to be a reason for denying a potential resident entrance to Big Wave. Once a start date for building construction is set, Big Wave will be in a position to provide realistic projections on the cost of living at the Wellness Center.